He still needed to work out exactly where these points had come from. This concerned Mo Fei's plans from here on.
First, when he initially received the system, he had 1.3 Belief Points, while there were eight children in the orphanage. Even at 0.2 per person, the numbers did not match. In other words, each person provided a different number of Belief Points.
That pointed to the crux of the issue.
Moreover, when the system notified him about Belief Points, it mentioned their degree of trust in him. Looking at it that way, different levels of trust apparently corresponded to different amounts of belief. That made sense.
Only then did the system suddenly reveal a new side.
[Host has discovered the underlying logic. Expanding Belief Point contributions-] [Aiwen: 0.5 Belief Points (trust)] [Lina: 0.3 Belief Points (approval)] [Boer: 0.2 Belief Points (approval)] ... [Jimmy: 0.2 Belief Points (approval)] [Tom Riddle: 0 (unfamiliar)]
Only now did this idiotic system show a little something different.
Looking at it this way, everything became clear. Apart from Aiwen, the other children still did not trust him quite enough, which was why he had only received this many Belief Points.
Moreover, those 0.7 Belief Points seemed to consist solely of new gains.
According to Mo Fei's calculations, Aiwen should have been at the trust level from the start. That meant he had initially provided 0.5 Belief Points, while Lina had not reached that level, and the same went for the other children.
The most likely starting breakdown should have been: 0.5 + 0.2 + 0.1 * 6 = 1.3. As things changed over this period, the other children's views had also improved, which was why he had gained another 0.7.
Calculated this way, the value of Belief Points spoke for itself.
Skill upgrades were also severely restricted.
Mo Fei felt troubled. However he looked at it, his golden finger could not instantly turn him into a supreme prodigy who dominated everything.
Working out these figures had thrown a bucket of cold water over him.
Was this really all these so-called Belief Points amounted to?
By that logic, even once all the children trusted him enough, his limit would only be 0.5 * 9 = 4.5, and that included Voldemort. Wasn't the situation far too dire?
What could he amount to with so few Belief Points? At most, he would only reach the level of a wealthy man.
Looking at it this way, the best way to acquire more Belief Points was not to adopt children, but to establish a so-called cult. That would be faster.
The problem was, as someone whose soul had been steeped in red, he seemed never to have considered heading in that direction.
The idea of doing his best and leaving the rest to fate still prevailed.
Wasn't there still plenty of room for improvement right now?
That was all he could tell himself.
Now he had another Belief Point on hand, which meant he could upgrade a skill further. There was something he wanted to try.
So he directed his thoughts toward Cooking (beginner), which he had already upgraded once.
Yet a second later, the upgrade from [Cooking (beginner) → Cooking (advanced)] was interrupted.
[Insufficient Belief Points. Please acquire more before upgrading again!]
The moment this message appeared, he understood.
More bad news had arrived.
Sure enough, this system was just like those traditional online gaming novels: the cost of upgrading its skills grew exponentially.
That made his Belief Point shortfall even greater.
However, after learning this, rather than becoming more dejected, he grew more interested.
Wasn't this taking him straight into familiar territory? Since upgrading skills required so many Belief Points, a possibility occurred to him.
Perhaps the Belief Points acquired from other people could also undergo a qualitative leap. Or perhaps bonds of belief could form between different species as well.
This conjecture was well worth testing.
And his orphanage happened to have a suitable test subject.
Tom Riddle, a wizard, looked exactly like an ordinary person. Although they did not quite count as two different races, might the Belief Points he could gain from him be somewhat different?
And then there were animals. Could the newly purchased cows also generate Belief Points?
These conjectures kept raising Mo Fei's enthusiasm.
And so his tasks became even more numerous.
One moment he was busy playing with little Tom; the next, he was building a bond with the cows, personally bathing them, feeding them, and so on...
However, the orphans saw nothing wrong with this behavior.
Caring for a newly arrived child and tending to the important property here were naturally part of an orphanage director's essential duties. At least, in their eyes, everything that had kept the director busy lately was worthwhile.
Except for Aiwen. His persistent worries still drove him to seek out Mo Fei.
After entering Mo Fei's room, he twitched his nose slightly.
Because the conditions here were well suited to fermenting dough starter, the room also carried a slightly sour smell of fermenting flour. It was not unpleasant, but it was somewhat unusual.
Mo Fei had grown used to it, but Aiwen noticed it immediately.
He rarely came here. After all, he understood the idea of personal space.
But only after entering did he seem to realize just how much Mo Fei had done lately.
Rather than fading, his doubts grew a little stronger.
"Director, aren't you going out to do those jobs anymore? Is it really all right to just stay at the orphanage like this? Won't the money..."
He knew very well that this orphanage received almost no subsidies, so nearly all of Mo Fei's previous income had gone toward supporting the household.
As he saw it, Mo Fei had not gone out to work for a long time and had even bought livestock, making their already strained finances worse. He was very worried: if the orphanage suddenly closed, where would he go?
But seeing the oldest child here looking so conflicted, Mo Fei beckoned him over and had him sit on his bed.
"Aiwen, have you ever thought about the future?"
At this question, Aiwen instantly went rigid.
Did this mean he wanted him to leave, or...?
A sorrowful expression immediately appeared on his face.
Fortunately, Mo Fei noticed in time and reassured him. "I'm not driving you away. But if we carried on the way we did before, at best you'd grow up safely. What about afterward? Would you go into London and find work in a smithy, or become a peddler roaming the streets and alleys... or, worst of all, join a gang...?"
The realities Mo Fei listed were laid out directly before him.
Indeed, with no other resources to his name, these paths seemed to be his future.
Mo Fei had still deliberately avoided the possibility he loathed: stealing because of poverty, then finally dying in a cold, damp prison.
Merely thinking about it made him start trembling uncontrollably.
Mo Fei pulled him straight into his arms, then whispered softly in his ear, "Now, I'm planning to give you all new choices. If we can build a successful business, you'll have money to get an education, and you'll have many more ways to make a living in London in the future..."
"We'll succeed. Even at worst, we'll only be going back to how things used to be. There's nothing to worry about..."
Mo Fei's reassurance seemed to work. This child, who had always been treated as a thief, had been terrified when he was sent here from prison. All his efforts since then had also stemmed from his fear that Mo Fei would abandon him, and he had kept trying to demonstrate his worth.
But now, someone was right in front of him, reassuring him: I'm planning your future.
The mere possibility instantly broke through his defenses. This older child, who had always pretended to be so strong, was now bawling.
Just as Aiwen's tears soaked Mo Fei's clothes, a notification sounded in his ears.
[Belief Points have increased substantially. Aiwen's level of trust has risen to (dependence).]
Looking at a change of only a single character, Mo Fei nevertheless sensed a qualitative shift.